Category: XFINITY Series PR

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Barger Precast Chevrolet Camaro

• AJ Allmendinger qualified fifth for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Allmendinger fired off loose before a caution for debris on lap four. He restarted fifth on lap nine and eventually fell one spot, before the second caution came out on lap 53. Allmendinger stayed out and restarted fifth with 20 laps remaining in the stage and fought to finish it in fourth place.
• Allmendinger pitted during the stage break for tires, fuel, and air pressure and track bar adjustments to help with rear grip. He started the second stage from 16th. After a caution on lap 121, Allmendinger reported the car felt very stiff and was chattering. He restarted 13th before the race’s second caution came on lap 154 with Allmendinger in 11th. Crew chief Alex Yontz made the call for Allmendinger to pit for tires, fuel, and air pressure, track bar and wedge adjustments to help the handling of the No. 16 Barger Precast Chevy. He restarted in 14th with nine to go and went on to finish the second stage in the same spot.
• Struggling to lean on the No. 16 Chevy, Allmendinger pitted during the second stage break for tires, fuel and another substantial adjustment, before starting the final stage from 26th place. The loan caution of Stage 3 came on lap 200, and Allmendinger stayed out and restarted 15th. He radioed that the adjustments made under the stage break had helped the handling of No. 16 Chevy, and over the course of the final 100 laps, Allmendinger broke into the top 10 and finished in 10th.

“We tried something different coming into Bristol, and from the moment we unloaded, we were just hanging on. Myself, Alex Yontz, and all the men and women at Kaulig Racing did everything we could. Getting a top ten in the Barger Precast Chevy was a win for us.” – AJ Allmendinger  

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro

• Shane van Gisbergen qualified 34th for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Van Gisbergen quickly moved his way to 27th, when the first caution occurred on lap four. Van Gisbergen battled to stay on the lead lap throughout the stage, but ultimately fell off the lead lap on lap 42. When the second caution flag flew on lap 54, Van Gisbergen reported the WeatherTech Chevy was loose on entry and lacked grip, but had good speed overall. The No. 97 WeatherTech team opted to pit under caution for adjustments and fuel, slotting Van Gisbergen to rejoin the field in 27th, one lap down. Van Gisbergen took the green-white-checkered flag in 30th to end the first stage.
• The No. 97 WeatherTech team opted to pit at the stage break for tires, fuel, and adjustments, starting the second stage in 29th. During the first caution of the stage, the No. 97 team opted to pit for adjustments and fuel as Van Gisbergen reported the car was still lacking overall grip. Van Gisbergen was in the lucky dog position when a timely caution allowed the No. 97 to rejoin the field on the lead lap, restarting the stage in 27th. He battled to maintain position as the car continued to lack grip during the green flag run, but when a yellow flew on lap 154, the No. 97 team came to pit road for fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments, restarting 22nd. As the stage concluded, Van Gisbergen was scored 23rd.
• The No. 97 WeatherTech team chose to stay out during the stage break caution, and Van Gisbergen started the final stage in 19th, entering the top 20 for the first time in the race. The fourth caution came out on lap 200 of the race, and the No. 97 team chose to stay out, restarting the stage in 20th. Van Gisbergen continued to run in the top 20 for all of the final stage, logging 100 laps in the top 20 for his first appearance at the half-mile track. The No. 97 fell off the lead lap with 15 laps remaining in the race but maintained position and ultimately took the checkered flag in 18th.

“This was an awesome race, I love this track! A little bummed we got lapped there at the end but got better all day and just had a blast. My No. 97 WeatherTech team has been awesome and we keep learning and getting better throughout the year, so looking forward to having some fun in the playoffs next weekend at Kansas.” – Shane van Gisbergen  

JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro

• Josh Williams qualified 32nd for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Williams, who was sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments, moved into 34th by the race’s first caution on lap four. The green flag flew again on lap nine, and Williams continued his charge forward, taking 28th on lap 17. After taking 26th, the caution came out on lap 53 for an incident with the leader and lapped traffic. After a lengthy deliberation between Williams and crew chief Eddie Pardue, the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Camaro stayed out on the track and restarted from 16th with 20 laps left in Stage 1. He lost positions en route to a 19th-place finish.
• Williams pitted for tires and fuel and restarted for Stage 2 from 23rd on lap 96. After taking 19th, the yellow flag flew on lap 121, and Williams stayed out. After trying to dial in his brake bias towards the front to help the Camaro’s balance, he restarted in 19th with 44 laps to go in the second stage. Falling to 22nd, the caution displayed on lap 154, and Williams pitted for tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment aimed at freeing the Chevy up. He fired back off in 21st with nine laps remaining in Stage 2 and took the green-white-checkered in 22nd.
• Williams restarted for the final stage in 18th and stayed there until the lap-200 caution. Pardue called the No. 11 down pit road for tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment. It was the team’s final set of sticker Goodyear tires. The race went back under green-flag conditions with 94 to go; Williams restarted 26th. He began climbing but stalled out once he reached 21st, getting put one lap down on lap 265. Williams took the checkered flag running in 21st.

“We made a lot of adjustments that didn’t end up working out for us as the race went on. Just overall, not the best day for us. Hoping to end the season on a strong note these last bunch of races.” – Josh Williams
 
About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

THREE TOYOTA TOP-FIVES AT BRISTOL
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team wins regular season owner’s title

BRISTOL, Tenn. (September 20, 2024) – Sheldon Creed continued to show his consistency with his second straight runner-up finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday evening. Creed, who leads the series with 13 top-five finishes, also scored his 13th second-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as he continues to search for his first victory.

Creed led three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas in the top-five with Chandler Smith finishing third and Ryan Truex ending up fifth. Smith, who added to his Playoff point total with a stage one victory, and Creed are now both set-up to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. Smith is the fourth seed, and starts 17 points up on the Playoff cutline, while Creed is the ninth seed – just three points out heading into Kansas next weekend.

With Truex’s fifth-place finish, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team clinched the regular season owner’s championship on the strength of seven victories.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 25 of 33 – 159.9 Miles, 300 Laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Cole Custer*
2nd, SHELDON CREED
3rd, CHANDLER SMITH
4th, Jesse Love*
5th, RYAN TRUEX
19th, JOE GRAF JR.
35th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Can you talk about your race car? You were very strong all night, what more did you need?

“Yeah, maybe just not slipping up there when I had the lead. He got loose on the first restart when he got the lead, and then I did the same thing that he did. Just got free there – I felt like I was pretty good there in the middle of the run, and I could stay with him. I was just trying to pace with him, and then I pancaked the fence all by myself, and then I hit it four or five more times, and I felt like I never really recovered after that. Just was a little too tight at the end of the run when we got to lap traffic, when I would get close. I just needed to turn a little bit better. We are really consistent with our Toyota team– another second. I’ll take it and we will keep moving forward.”

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 81 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Do you think you are back hitting your stride?

“Yeah, definitely – we had a solid showing tonight with our No. 81 Mobil 1 GR Supra. It was a fast as Xfinity internet. Unfortunately, after stage one – got stuck in traffic back there, and clawed our way back to third and just rode behind our teammate there for 80 laps trying to find a way around him to go run down the 00 (Cole Custer) – tried to figure out some way to do it clean and unfortunately, ran out of laps. It is what it is. We will move on to Kansas.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Can you tell us about your night?

“It went pretty well. I did a terrible job in qualifying in my GR Supra – I feel like being a part-time driver, qualifying is the hardest thing, because it is so hard to find that limit when you only get 20 minutes of practice, and you are expected to go run half-a-second quicker. When you don’t race every week, you just don’t know where that delta is. I just under drove it in qualifying and put us behind the 8-ball. We had a really good start – decent stage one. We got stage points, and then stage two – we flipped the stage, got really good stage points and then had to hold on to the track position. A little too free that last run. I was hanging on in front of Dale (Earnhardt). Just thankful he didn’t left rear me, because he could have, pretty easily used me up – but had a lot of fun racing him. Hopefully, I see you all again in a more full time capacity.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 29 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Food City 300 | Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, September 20, 2024

COLE CUSTER WINS NASCAR XFINITY SERIES REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP WITH BRISTOL VICTORY

• Cole Custer won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with his win tonight at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Custer’s victory is his second of the season to go with his triumph earlier this year at Pocono Raceway.
• The win is Custer’s 15th series victory with Ford, which puts him in sole possession of sixth place on the manufacturer’s all-time list.

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEWS

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO THE TEAM? “Man, it’s just unbelievable. It’s a testament to these guys. It’s been a really hard month, but everyone at the shop really kept their heads in it. I can’t thank High Point enough. It’s awesome to get them a win. Ford Performance. All the guys did such a great job. It was an unbelievable car all night. I’m ready to get to the playoffs.”

YOU ARE THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? “It’s huge to get this momentum because our confidence was going down there this last month, so to get this win really means a lot.”

“Man, what a car. What a race. I mean, these guys did such a great job with this thing. I can’t thank HighPoint.com enough. Every race we’ve wanted to do better with them and this was finally a race we put it all together. It was just an unbelievable car. I could really drive through the field and do everything I needed. It’s a real testament to this team of what we can bring to the playoffs.”

YOU STARTED IN THE WALL ON LAP 3. YOU WERE ON YOUR LAST SET OF TIRES FOR 140 LAPS AND END UP IN VICTORY LANE WITH THE REGULAR SEASON TITLE. HOW ABOUT THAT? “It’s unbelievable. These guys never give up. It’s been a tough month, but to be able to lead into the playoffs like this, we’re gonna really bring it to them.”

Ford Finishing Results:

1st – Cole Custer
8th – Ryan Sieg
13th – Riley Herbst
22nd – Blaine Perkins
23rd – Kyle Sieg
27th – Logan Bearden
32nd – Chad Finchum
34th – Matt DiBenedetto
36th – Garrett Smithley

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TONIGHT? “I guess it’s good for our team with Cole being in Victory Lane. That was cool to see. It’s good for us, but we just missed it. I don’t know. We weren’t good in practice and didn’t qualify well, and then we didn’t have much pace in the race, either.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS SET UP FOR THE PLAYOFFS? “I feel like when we execute we’re one of the fastest teams for sure, but tonight wasn’t one of those nights. We’ll have to figure out why and what I need better, but we’ll go to work.”

WHAT ABOUT STARTING THE PLAYOFFS AT KANSAS? “I think we’ll be really competitive. I’m excited for it and hopefully we can step up to the plate.”

RYAN SIEG, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DO YOU LOOK BACK ON THIS YEAR? “Probably the hard ones. You go back to Texas, but there was a few races where we let some points slip. All in all, it was a great year, nothing to hang our heads on. We still have some races to go win. That’s the goal and that was our goal this year. We’ve had shots to do it, we’ve just got to execute everything. We’ve worked hard all year, so nothing to hang our heads on. We’ve had a fast Sci Ops Ford Mustang each week, just sometimes we didn’t capitalize on the points and other times I messed up, but, all in all, we come out of here with a top 10 and we just have to continue that momentum and try to win some races here at the end and continue this momentum we’ve got going for next year.”

WHAT NEEDS TO IMPROVE FOR NEXT YEAR? “We’ve got some things in the works. We should improve next year. We have most of our same group next year, and then we’ll add a few more. The next step is probably trying to focus more on all the little things on our car. That’s probably where we’re getting beat a little bit, just the little things we’ve got to clean up and we should be able to run with them if we can execute everything and contend for races week in and week out. We’ve just got to keep digging.”

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Food City 300 Advance | Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, September 20, 2024

Stewart-Haas teammates Cole Custer and Riley Herbst have both qualified for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, which begin next week at Kansas Speedway. Both drivers visited the Bristol Motor Speedway infield media center to discuss their seasons to date.

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HIGH POINT IS ON THE CAR THIS WEEK. “It’s always awesome having High Point on the car. They’re a long time sponsor at SHR. They’re the most energetic people that really bring a lot of energy to our team, I feel like. We didn’t have the best run for them last week, so hopefully we can get it this week. I felt like Bristol was a really strong track for us last year, so hopefully we can follow it up and get the High Point car up front.”

WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO TONIGHT? “For the most part, I think they’d have to have a pretty big issue for us to catch them, so we’re focused mainly on winning and keeping the second-place position because I think we have like 15 points to third, so I think it’s one of those things that we’ll try to go for the stage points if we can, but you also want the win, so you really have to try and manage those two things and just see how your car is running. If you have a really strong car, you might go for the win. If you’re not how you want to be, you might go for the points a little bit more, so it’s gonna be up in the air, I would say.”

AS YOU WATCH WHAT’S HAPPENED THIS SEASON IN CUP AND XFINITY, HOW HAS THAT CHALLENGED YOUR OWN PERSONAL CODE AND ETHICS AS YOU PREPARE TO GO BACK TO CUP NEXT YEAR? “It will drive you crazy. I think you see that with what Truex says after the race and things like that because you just get used up, it feels like. I don’t’ know if anybody has taken advantage of the guys who race clean that they just know that they’re not gonna retaliate as much or whatever it is, but I don’t think that’s what people are doing. It’s just everybody is so aggressive because they know if they don’t do something aggressive, someone is gonna do something aggressive to them. It’s a really tough situation because if you don’t go out there and be really aggressive, you’re just gonna get used up. It’s one of those things where you really have to manage it and really have to stick your nose in there. Even though it might not work out, you have to be on that aggressive side of things. It’s tough because it can drive you crazy. I always want to just go racing. I feel like if I do my things right, I’m not gonna get in a pissing match with somebody else and just have that derail our day another weekend. I think it’s better to move on and focus on what you have in your car and how you make yourself better, instead of worrying about a pissing match with somebody else. It’s a really tough line to walk on just with how aggressive things are and sometimes you have to stand your ground. The problem is if you stand your ground, then you are derailing your weekends in the future and there aren’t many guys who want to derail their races in the future when they have so much on the line, so I guess it’s just become common practice that it’s just part of the sport, I guess.”

YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE SITUATION HARRISON BURTON IS IN, GOING FROM CUP BACK TO XFINITY. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THAT’S LIKE AND WHAT HE CAN EXPECT? “Harrison shows a lot of potential. He’s a guy who works really hard and obviously has shown that he can win in the Xfinity Series, so at the end of the day a good thing for him is that he’s gonna be a leader over there for that team and he can really steer the ship, and I think he’ll be great as an alliance partner. I think, at the end of the day, they have a lot of potential with that team. I think you’ve seen the last few races they’ve been able to show speed, it’s just a matter of getting the finishes, but I feel like he’ll be able to come back down and he can bring value to an organization – really be able to lead an organization and get them better throughout a year.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT BRISTOL THAT MAKES YOU SO GOOD? “It’s always been a track that I’ve loved to race at just because it’s Bristol. Ever since I was a little kid, Bristol was such a cool place to watch on TV and really one of the highlights of the whole year, really. So when you go and get to drive there for the first time it’s a place that you really want to run good at because it’s such a special place. For whatever reason, I’ve just had really fast cars here that have helped me do that, really great teams and you just have to work really hard at understanding the racetrack because it can change a lot, especially with how the top works in and how they spray the resin down different every single time it seems like, so you have to really keep up with it and be smart about how you want your car. It’s always a fun place to go because it does change so much.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW MUCH DOES BEING LOCKED IN EARLY HELP TAKE THE PRESSURE AWAY? “I’d say it takes it away a little bit, but it’s always nice to get back in championship form before the playoffs start next week at Kansas, so I think that’s kind of the biggest objective outside of winning tonight is to get our feet back underneath us and score good stage points, run up front and lead some laps and head on to Kansas with a full head of steam for sure.”

HOW DO YOU PUT NEXT YEAR’S UNCERTAINTY OUT OF YOUR MIND FOR NOW AND FOCUS ON THESE NEXT SEVEN RACES? “I think there’s always a little bit of that nature, for sure, but we’re very focused on the 98 team and trying to win this championship. I feel like when we are at our top form, like everybody saw at Indy and previous races, we can win this championship and we have the best speed in the field. It’s about executing and getting back to executing. Who know what’s gonna happen next year. Anybody’s guess is as good as mine, so we’ll take it from there and hopefully we can get some more trophies before January rolls around.”

IS THERE ONE SPECIFIC THING YOU CAN ISOLATE FOR WHAT’S KEPT YOU AT THE TOP OF YOUR GAME THIS YEAR? “I think the biggest thing is just time. We live in a world where everybody wants everything immediately. I’m guilty of that as well, and I didn’t have enough time. I just jumped in this thing very fast head first, and now that I have my feet underneath me I feel like I’m understanding what I want out of my race car. I’m comfortable in my own skin and I’m ready to show us at the racetrack with the mentality that I’m gonna win the race. I feel like that’s the biggest thing and obviously pairing with Davin and his really, really smart engineering mind, but to bring me fast race cars obviously has helped me tremendously as well. I think it’s a bunch of things, but I’m so excited for these playoffs because I genuinely feel like we have a really good chance to make it to Phoenix, unlike any other playoffs I’ve ever been in before.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT MAKES IT SPECIAL FOR YOU AND SHR? “I think we’ve always just kind of ran pretty well here at Bristol. I think that it goes back to Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer earlier. They built a pretty good setup and I’ve been lucky enough to have that setup and just kind of understand this race. It’s very fast paced. I think it’s gonna be on the bottom for quite some time tonight and we might move up a little bit later, but we’ve had some good finishes and hopefully we can get one more tonight.”

COLE CUSTER | RILEY HERBST
Bristol NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview

• Event: Food City 300 (Round 26 of 33)
• Date: Friday, Sept. 20
• Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
• Layout: .533-mile, concrete oval
• Time/TV/Radio: 7:30 p.m. EDT on CW/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

• Cole Custer is ready to head to a track that has suited him well in the past for Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. After a tough race last Saturday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International that yielded a disappointing 21st-place result for the road course ace, the driver of the No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse is welcoming the new scenery in the mountains of East Tennessee. While the past month has been a roller coaster of emotions after losing the regular-season points lead at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Custer arrives for the regular-season finale at Bristol second in the driver standings, 43 points behind leader Justin Allgaier. Custer is locked into the seven-race, 12-driver Xfinity Series Playoffs, which kick off next weekend at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Custer is seventh in the playoff standings with eight playoff points.
• Friday night’s Food City 300 will mark Custer’s eighth Xfinity Series start at Bristol. In his prior seven visits to the high-banked, .533-mile, concrete oval, Custer has scored five top-10 finishes and started from the pole three times – August 2018, April 2019, and last September. He led 25 laps in the April 2019 race en route to his best Bristol finish of third, which he followed up in last September’s night race with a fourth-place finish after leading 109 laps from the pole. He has an additional nine Bristol starts outside of the Xfinity Series – four in the NASCAR Cup Series, three in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and two in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Best of those was a sixth-place finish in the 2016 Truck Series race.
• Returning to the No. 00 Ford Mustang Dark Horse this weekend is HighPoint.com, the leading provider of technology infrastructure solutions that is headquartered in Sparta, New Jersey. HighPoint has been a partner of Stewart-Haas Racing since 2020, when the company supported Chase Briscoe’s NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, a collaboration that netted a series-best nine victories. HighPoint has climbed the NASCAR ladder with Briscoe and has helped Stewart-Haas maximize its IT investments. As an IT Solutions Integrator focused on all things that connect, HighPoint helps its customers with the selection and supply of network infrastructure, mobility, collaboration, data center, security solutions and the risk-mitigated implementation and management of its technology. The company, founded in 1996, is a minority-owned business that serves markets in its nearby Tri-State Region (New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware) and the Southeastern United States via its presence in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as globally with offices in Amsterdam and London. To learn more about HighPoint’s solutions, visit HighPoint.com.
• Custer will sport a unique pair of gloves this weekend at Bristol as part of the Driven to Give Glove Program in collaboration with the Dale Jr. Foundation. At the conclusion of Friday night’s race, Custer will autograph a pair of Simpson gloves featuring a red skeleton with his Cole Custer logo, and they will be auctioned off to raise money for the foundation. From Friday night through Sept. 23, the gloves will be up for bid at www.thedalejrfoundation.org.

Riley Herbst Notes of Interest

• Riley Herbst hopes to keep his strong runs rolling Friday night under the lights in the Food City 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. While the driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse earned a 13th-place finish last Saturday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, it wasn’t indicative of his strong run, during which he ran well inside the top-10 all day. He’s looking forward to racing Friday night on the .533-mile, concrete oval in East Tennessee. Herbst’s success on short tracks has been notable throughout his Xfinity Series career. Of his 23 Xfinity Series short-track starts, he has earned seven top-fives and 15 top-10s with 40 laps led. In the past four seasons since joining SHR in 2021, Herbst has finished in the top-10 at each of the short tracks on the schedule at least once, with a best of third at Bristol in September 2021. He hopes to add to those numbers and close the deal at Bristol with another victory and another five playoff points prior to the start of the Xfinity Series Playoffs Sept. 28 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.
• Friday night’s race will mark Herbst’s sixth Xfinity Series start at Bristol. Of his five prior starts, Herbst has four top-10 finishes highlighted by his third-place run in September 2021 behind the wheel of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. In last September’s race under the Bristol lights, he finished seventh. Since joining SHR in 2021, he’s never finished outside the top-10 at Bristol. He has an additional three starts there outside the Xfinity Series – two in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Best of those outings was his 10th-place effort in the 2016 K&N East race.
• The last time Bristol hosted the Xfinity Series regular-season finale in 2022, Herbst finished fifth, his second consecutive top-five at the track. He started 12th and proved his resiliency after a spin on lap 13 that put him outside the top-20. He worked his way up to 15th by the end of the first stage, then found himself back inside the top-10 during most of the second stage before ultimately finishing fifth. In the final stage, he struggled with the balance of his Ford Mustang, but a strategy call by his No. 98 team on lap 270 for four fresh tires and fuel proved to be just the call he needed. He was able to restart fifth with 20 laps to go and stayed there to secure his third career Bristol top-10. Herbst only added to those numbers with his top-10 finish last September. Currently, he’s on a four-race top-10 streak at Bristol.
• Like his teammate Cole Custer, Herbst will once again be supporting the Dale Jr. Foundation this weekend. His custom pair of Monster Energy green skeleton gloves will join the Driven to Give Glove Program effort to benefit the Dale Jr. Foundation. The initiative supports Nationwide Children’s Hospital and its efforts to help courageous patients and their families in areas of pediatric injury rehabilitation, research and cancer prevention. After Friday night’s race, Herbst will autograph his gloves and put them up for auction at www.thedalejrfoundation.org from Friday night through Sept. 23.

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Bristol is a strong track for you. Not only do you have three poles there, you also have five top-10 finishes in seven prior starts. What do you need to do this weekend to seal the deal and bring home your first win at the track?

“We just need to stay out of trouble and be the best of the best. Every driver in this field loves Bristol and many perform well at it. If we want to have a shot to win, then we need to be perfect all weekend. We have to unload fast and be able to hold off the field. Bristol is also a track that is so small that you can get caught up in some trouble really fast. Honestly, we just have to be prepared for anything. I know the No. 00 team will give me a fast Ford Mustang this weekend, now it’s just about capitalizing on it. HighPoint.com is back on the car this weekend and I’m hoping we can park them in victory lane for their final race of the season.”

The 2024 regular season is coming to a close at Bristol. Talk about your journey this season and your outlook on the playoffs.

“Man, it’s been a year. We’ve seen some highs and lows, but overall I wouldn’t trade any moment. It was frustrating going through so much of the season without a win, but it wasn’t like we weren’t performing well. We were able to grab ahold of the top spot in the points standings and hold onto it without a win for quite a while. We got our first win at Pocono, but then we’ve had some bad luck since then. It sucks because we lost the points lead and continue to find trouble. This final stretch of races saw three superspeedway-style races, an intermediate, and a road course. We haven’t been able to capitalize on those superspeedway races and it hurt us big time. Even if we’re not regular season champions, though, we’ve accomplished so much as a team. We’re not ones to count out for the playoffs, either. I didn’t win the regular-season championship last year, but I took home the big title at Phoenix. If we can make it through the first round, the second round is the bread and butter for Stewart-Haas Racing. We just have to be smart at the first three races to make it through to the Round of 8.”

Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse

You’ve repeatedly talked about Bristol being your favorite track on the Xfinity Series schedule. What is it about this short track that appeals to you?

“I think it’s just short-track racing in general that appeals to me. Most of the guys in the garage will say this, but these types of tracks take us back to our roots. Bristol is obviously unique with its layout, but I think it still has the same elements as other short tracks. That track is hectic. It’s so crazy. It’s so fast. It’s a little half-mile, and it’s high-banked. It’s so much fun to go and battle there and rub some fenders. I’m excited to head back to Bristol after our third place in 2021, a fifth-place run in 2022, and a seventh-place result last year. We’ve brought speed to short tracks this year and haven’t really gotten the finishes we deserved. I’m hoping we can get the job done and find victory lane again this weekend. We don’t have the pressure of making the playoffs on us now, so we can just focus on winning and getting more playoff points.”

This is the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season finale. While you’ve had a roller coaster of a year, you’ve had some pretty strong moments to make you look like a strong competitor for the 2024 championship. What do you need to do to bring home the title at Phoenix?

“We need to be solid and make the most of each and every race. This elimination-style playoffs make it so you have to be consistent, but you also have to make the most of each race. I’ve never made it out of the Round of 12 before, but if we can do that this year, then we’ll have a strong chance of making it to the Championship 4 at Phoenix. I scored the most points of any driver in the field in last year’s Round of 8 and I wasn’t even in the playoffs. Just imagine if we were. The Round of 12 is all about survival, but I have faith in this No. 98 Monster Energy team. We’ve had fast cars every weekend, but trouble seemed to find us a lot. If we can just be consistent and get strong finishes, we’ll have a shot to run for the championship.”

JR Motorsports Team Preview
TRACK – Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)
NXS RACE – Food City 300 (300 laps / 159.9 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Sam Mayer

No. 1 – Carolina Carports Chevrolet

Mayer 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 25

Wins: 2

Top 5s: 7

Top 10s: 10

Laps Led: 137

Avg. Finish: 18.8

Points: 13th

• Sam Mayer heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series start at “The Last Great Colosseum”.
• In three previous starts at the Tennessee short-track, Mayer has tallied one-top five and two top-10’s with a best of fourth coming at this event in 2022.
• The young driver has a winning history at Bristol as he won two races in one night in 2020 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. Crew chief, Mardy Lindley was atop the pit box for his ARCA victory that evening.
• In 22 starts on tracks measuring a mile or less in length, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet has earned one win (Iowa, 2024), nine top-five and 12 top-10 efforts.

Sam Mayer

“Bristol is one of my favorite tracks so I am super pumped that we are finally headed back there this week. Last year we had some bad luck, but this track has treated me so well in the past and Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and the team have been working so hard in the shop. So I have no doubt that when we unload in Bristol, we will be in contention for a solid finish. Carolina Carports is back on board as well and I am looking forward to hopefully sending them to Victory Lane Friday night under the lights.”

Justin Allgaier

No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet

Allgaier 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 25

Wins: 2

Top 5s: 7

Top 10s: 15

Laps Led: 589

Avg. Finish: 13.2

Points: 1st

• Justin Allgaier heads to Bristol as the defending NXS winner at the hallowed short track, taking the victory after leading a race-high 110 laps in this event last season.
• Additionally, Allgaier has led 90 or more laps in seven consecutive events at Bristol, dating back to the spring of 2019.
• Overall, Allgaier has led a total of 1,114 laps in “Thunder Valley,” the most of any track that the veteran driver has competed on in the NXS.
• To accompany the 1,114 laps led, Allgaier has scored a combined two wins (including the first of his NXS career in 2010), 11 top fives and 15 top 10s at Bristol.
• With one race remaining in the regular season, Allgaier currently holds a 43-point lead in the championship standings.

Justin Allgaier

“Bristol has been such a special place throughout my career. I’ve always loved coming here and hopefully we can be just as strong this weekend as we have been over the last few years with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet. We know what we need to do when we unload, and I feel extremely confident that we will be in contention for the win when it counts and come away with the regular season championship.”

Sammy Smith

No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet

Smith 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 25

Wins: 0

Top 5s: 5

Top 10s: 13

Laps Led: 55

Avg. Finish: 15.3

Points: 10th

• On tracks up to one mile in length, Sammy Smith has 17 starts in the NXS. In those starts, he has tallied one win (Phoenix 2023), five top-fives, 12 top 10s.
• Smith has run at Bristol twice in his NXS career, qualifying sixth both times and finishing with one top-10.
• Heading into the last race of the regular season, Smith sits 43 points above the playoff cutline.
• This week, Sept. 15-21, is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. To celebrate, JRM and Pilot Flying J created a special paint scheme to run at Bristol as a thank you to our hauler drivers and Pro Drivers everywhere.

Sammy Smith

“I’m looking forward to running under the lights this Friday at Bristol as we contend for our position in the playoffs. I’ve had good runs there in the past and JRM has always brought strong cars there so I’m excited to get there and close out the regular season on a high note.”

Brandon Jones

No. 9 Menards / Pelonis Chevrolet

Jones 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 25

Wins: 0

Top 5s: 1

Top 10s: 6

Laps Led: 30

Avg. Finish: 20.2

Points: 14th

• Brandon Jones has made 14 starts at Bristol in the NXS and has recorded three top fives and six top 10s, including a runner-up finish during the 2022 season.
• Additionally, Jones has five starts at Bristol in the NCTS, earning one top-five and three top-10s.
• Over 47 starts on short tracks in the NXS the 27-year-old Georgia native has one win, seven top fives and 17 top 10s.
• Pelonis, a trusted brand in home comfort for over 25 years, will be making its third of four appearances on the hood of Jones’ Camaro this weekend. This will be the brand’s second appearance in “Thunder Valley” with Jones.

Brandon Jones

“Bristol is one of my favorite tracks, so I am looking forward to going back this weekend. We have had a lot of speed there in the past and I know this No. 9 team is working hard to make sure we unload another fast car on Friday. This is our last chance to make it into the playoffs, so we are going to give it everything we have. This team is capable of winning races and I am ready for the results to show what we’re able to do.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet

Earnhardt Jr. NXS Career Stats

Starts: 146

Wins: 24

Top 5s: 71

Top 10s: 95

Laps Led: 3716

Avg. Finish: 10.8

Points: N/A

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to Bristol this weekend for the NXS race, hoping to build on last year’s performance where he led 47 laps and was in the hunt for victory until a mechanical issue cut his evening short.
• When driving JRM machines in the NXS at Bristol, Earnhardt Jr. owns three top-five finishes in five starts, the best being a third-place effort in 2011.
• Twenty years ago, in 2004, Earnhardt Jr. swept the weekend at Bristol, winning the NXS race on Friday night and dominating the NASCAR Cup Series event on Saturday. Combined, he led 420 of the 756 laps run that weekend.
• This weekend, the NXS and NCS, drivers in both series will wear Earnhardt Jr.’s signature skeleton gloves, which will be auctioned off for benefit of The Dale Jr. Foundation next month. Each driver will sign one of the gloves and Earnhardt Jr. will autograph the other.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“We are bringing back the same car as last year, that we totally stripped and rebuilt. I hope it handles as well because we were so fast here last year in the Hellmann’s Chevrolet. The Bristol Night race is just an awesome event, and I always look forward to running here with the crowd, the lights, and the excitement.”

JRM Team Updates

JR Motorsports at Bristol Motor Speedway: JR Motorsports has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway a combined 93 times in the NXS since its first trip there in 2006. In those starts at the .533-mile short-track, the organization has recorded four wins, 25 top-fives and 56 top-10s, with an average finish of 12.7.

Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / Legacy MC souvenir rig on Friday, Sept. 20 from 4:20 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. ET.

Food City Fan Stage: JRM drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones will be appearing at the Food City Fan Stage on Friday, Sept. 20 from 5:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. ET.